Apple Will Stop Accepting iTunes LP Album Formats: What Are They Again?

According to Apple jargon, LPs refer to a specific music bundle, which commentators state will now be removed from iTunes stores throughout 2018. Metro (via Venture Beat) reports today that Apple told iTunes partners last month that new iTunes LP submissions will no longer be accepted starting April 1.

Existing LPs will be deprecated from the store during the remainder of 2018.

As noted by The Verge, these have never been a huge part of Apple's music strategy, so it makes sense that they'd phase it out sooner or later. The iTunes LP format dates back to 2009 when Appleoffered music publishers a way to package interactive artwork and other extras with LP downloads. It's unclear how iTunes, which has been heavily updated with Apple Music and other integrations since iTunes LP's debut, now handles the feature. Your iTunes LP will be reviewed by iTunes for quality and appropriate content.

"Customers who have previously purchased an album containing an iTunes LP will still be able to download the additional content using iTunes Match", the email read. An iTunes Store link to "See All Albums with iTunes LP" doesn't appear to work when tapped within the store, but it can be accessed by clicking above.

Yes, Apple would love it if we all moved to Apple Music for our music needs, but as long as people continue to buy digital albums and tracks in meaningful numbers, iTunes as we know it will continue to exist.

A leaked memo says Apple is phasing out iTunes LP, and that's being interpreted as "Apple isn't going to sell song downloads on iTunes anymore".